A tax official lost his bonus after allowing Goldman Sachs to escape a tax bill of up to £10 million, Parliament was told yesterday.

Questioned by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee, Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax at HM Revenue & Customs, said the employee had been disciplined through the annual staff appraisal process.

Asked whether that meant the tax official had lost his bonus, Mr Hartnett said: “I think that’s another way of putting it.”

Mr Hartnett, who in a previous appearance before the committee denied an accusation of lying about the Goldman settlement which he helped to